Here are some tips for setting up your own frequent-diner program: • Train your employees about the importance of your frequent diner program. Offer incentives to employees who sign up the most customers. Also train them to remind the customer t...

If you plan to utilize secret shoppers, be sure they answer the following questions: • Were you greeted with a friendly smile when entering the pizzeria? • Was the restaurant clean? • How long did it take for the food to be served? &bu...

Exposed ceilings present pros and cons for operators In his new hip restaurant where seasonal artisanal pizzas are delivered from a wood-burning oven, Mike Isabella wanted just one thing: exposure. Isabella, who appeared on season six of Bravo’s â€...

Patio service requires right employees, finesse Patio dining. Some restaurant operators say their business wouldn’t be the same without it. Barbara Reeve, general manager for the Tivoli Restaurant in New Milford, Connecticut, is one of them. The th...

The wait is finally over. It has been nearly four months since I first noticed construction two blocks from my apartment in a relatively quiet Brooklyn neighborhood. It’s not that we don’t have pizza nearby — there are at least two slice shops ...

Performance kitchens put staff center stage   For Brixx, a southeastern-U.S.-based chain of brick-oven restaurants, having a performance kitchen was just a natural extension of the restaurant’s branding strategy. “Making the pizza in...

Dram shop laws, underage drinking, over serving, altercation risk, staffing and training: operating a bar within a pizzeria can be a mess of liability. But managed effectively, a bar can enhance your pizzeria and drive traffic with not only alcohol s...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what hangs on an operator’s walls says a lot. Whether it is comprised of pictures, artwork, awards, sports memorabilia or a little bit of everything, a restaurant’s wall décor speaks vol...

Pick-up windows add appeal for on-the-go customers   What’s better on a cold night than a hot pizza that you didn’t have to leave the warmth of your car to pick up? Even on a summer day when it’s sizzling outside, not having to leave the c...

There’s no such thing as Italian pizza. Allow me to clarify: there is no single Italian style of pizza. That would be like saying there’s only one style in the United States. Instead, there’s a patchwork of variations based on different regiona...

Hey Dave, I currently own a counter service joint and am looking to open my second location. This location I’m looking to do more sit-down. So my question is, is 30- to 35- percent labor cost reasonable for this type of restaurant? Ryan Olson M...

When a gas station stops letting customers use the restrooms because some people use them without making a purchase, or when a grocery store refuses to accept responsibility for mistakenly selling spoiled food, they lose business and create negative ...